


Until You Love Me

by leporidae



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idols, Bow Is a Good Friend (She-Ra), F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Jealous Glimmer (She-Ra), Misunderstandings, Pining Adora (She-Ra), Press and Tabloids, SPOP Art Fight, glad those were all existing tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25850236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leporidae/pseuds/leporidae
Summary: Romance was for graceful women like her mother, who possessed poise and a glowing smile. Not whatever Glimmer was: a rambunctious rebel who yelled too loudly and angered too easily.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra) (mentioned), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	Until You Love Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chaimin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaimin/gifts).



> This is a (written) art fight attack for the [SPOP Art Fight](https://twitter.com/SPOPFight2020) that's going on this month, for [SPOP Tsai](https://twitter.com/tsaimless) Tsai who requested, "Glimbow secretly dating but they deny the rumors because it'd be too controversial." They're not _quite_ dating yet in this drabble, but... I suppose this is the scene that leads up to it.
> 
> ~~Let's do our best, Team Horde!~~

_ “Ohmigosh _ — it’s Glimmer and Bow!”

The concert has drawn to a close, but even now Glimmer cannot get a moment of respite. Cameras click and flash as the crowd of fans surrounds her with phones outstretched, fighting to capture the best possible angle of the idols as they retreat.

Desperately she glances towards Adora for help, only to see her bandmate duck backstage, the cape of her She-Ra costume rippling behind her as she disappears behind the curtain. Glimmer has to make a conscious effort not to roll her eyes. Adora has done this at  _ every concert, _ dashing away in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her fan: the leather-clad, dark haired girl with freckles who lurks at the back of every audience. They’ve never exchanged words, just mischievous glances, and Glimmer thinks the whole thing is a bit silly. Still, when Adora’s mind is made up about something, she is unshakably stubborn. 

Privately Glimmer doesn’t think anything will come of Adora’s mystery girl. She’s always gone by the time Adora changes out of her costume, and Adora always returns to the tour van crestfallen, breathing heavily from the exertion of a futile chase. Most fans would kill to have a one-on-one backstage encounter with She-Ra herself, but Mystery Girl doesn’t seem to care. It’s almost as if she only attends the concerts to toy with Adora. 

_ Whatever. _ Adora can deal with it herself. Right now Glimmer has her own situation to take care of: namely, her near-suffocation by countless eager bodies thrumming with energy all around her. 

Bow has been separated from her by a few feet, which in this dense crowd may as well be an entire galaxy away, and she cranes her head back to make eye contact with him. He grins back at her sheepishly, and this time Glimmer  _ does _ roll her eyes. Unlike Glimmer, who finds their fans' worship irritating and a bit uncomfortable, Bow likes the validation of being a star, relishing in his ability to make strangers smile with charisma alone. And he hates disappointing those fans — to a fault.

_ “Bow,”  _ Glimmer belts over the oceanic roar of cheers. “Encore’s over, we gotta go!”

Bow laughs apologetically. Glimmer can’t hear it, but she can see his nervous smile, and she fears they’re in this for the long haul. The fans are clamoring around them with notepads and microphones, and Bow doesn’t want to bounce before he answers their questions, lest he seem detached or arrogant.

Glimmer is sick of responding to the same tabloid drivel over and over.

_ When are you planning to release your next album? _ someone will ask, and then someone else will follow it up with the inevitable:  _ Bow, please tell us: are you and Glimmer an item?  _

And Bow, as usual, will laugh nervously, a sheen of perspiration on his brow as he insists that  _ no, of course not, we’re just friends. The Best Friend Squad, remember?  _

Glimmer’s fists clench at her sides.

Of course not.

Of _ course _ not.

“Bow,” Glimmer shouts, and the anger in her voice gets through to him this time, because he hesitates. “We’re leaving.  _ Now.” _

He stammers an apology to the eager faces around him as he pushes through the throng towards Glimmer. The rush of voices escalates, a cacophony of words she can barely make out, fragments of questions she’s already heard and doesn’t want to hear again. As soon as Bow is within grasp she grabs his wrist — not his hand, of course, because they’re _just_ _friends_ and all — and yanks him away from the clamoring masses, ignoring his whimper of protest as she practically throws him backstage.

“Geez, I didn’t think we were in _that_ much of a hurry,” Bow protests, shaking off her grip once the door has slammed behind them. “What’s got you so worked up? Are you okay?”

“Adora,” Glimmer says too quickly, which of course is just an excuse. “She ran off after that heckler again.”

“Who? Oh yeah, that girl with the freckles,” Bow muses. “I wonder what's up with those two. Do they know each other from somewhere?”

“Who cares,” Glimmer snaps, ignoring the pang of guilt as Bow’s thoughtful expression wilts into a frown. “What if she’s a stalker? One of those crazed fans who's planning to kidnap her or something? If we let Adora go off on her own —”

“Glimmer,” Bow interrupts gently. “Adora can take care of herself. She’s not an idiot. And if something goes wrong, well… she also likes to hit things. And people, sometimes. So I think she’ll be fine.”

She folds her arms across her chest, a negative fog settling over her thoughts.  _ Bow sure likes to compliment Adora, _ the traitorous voice in Glimmer’s head sneers, fueling her hurt with jealousy. _Jealousy!_ The sickening thought washes over Glimmer unbidden, even  though Adora is her best friend and clearly only interested in Mystery Girl.

What is wrong with her? Is she just a terrible person?

_ That would explain why Bow keeps saying “of course not.” _

“Glimmer,” Bow says again, quieter. “You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?”

That ugly pain twists in her gut, the one that reacts to Bow’s soft voice and gentle eyes no matter how hard she tries to tamp it down, and she bites her lip.

When she was little, Glimmer had seen her mother's adoration for her father, but she had never quite understood the depth of it, how one person could care for another so much. She couldn’t relate to the dapple of blush on Angella’s cheeks or the way her voice gained a lighter, almost magical quality after she'd given Micah a kiss on the cheek. After all, romance was for graceful women like her mother, who possessed poise and a glowing smile. Not whatever Glimmer was: a rambunctious rebel who yelled too loudly and angered too easily.

Oh, but she understands now. She understands, but it’s not a fairy tale fantasy like her parents' relationship had been. Angella and Micah had loved each other equally, dedicated their lives to one another. Glimmer, on the other hand, is destined to be the  _ of course not. _ The  _ we’re just friends. _

It hurts.

“Right, anything,” Glimmer echoes dully. “Best Friend Squad, am I right? Just a bunch of pals."

"Glimmer—"

"Do you even have time to council me though my silly crush?" she sneers, the admittance slipping through her sarcasm. "Or is your schedule booked with all your other adoring fans?"

“A crush?” Bow swallows. “I… oh. Well, that’s…” He’s got that pleading, puppy dog look in his eyes, and Glimmer raises an eyebrow. “On someone else? But I thought… I kind of thought we were…” Sheepishly, he gestures between them. “You know, us?”

“Huh?” Now it’s Glimmer’s turn to double take. “Us? As in… you and me?” Her cheeks are burning, and the concert has been over for far too long to blame it on the adrenaline. 

“Sorry,” Bow mumbles. “I just sort of assumed that we both… well, never mind.”

“Hold on,” Glimmer yelps, her voice cracking gracelessly. “But — but you’re always telling people you’d never date me!, Whenever they ask, you—” Her voice catches in her throat, her hands shaking with nerves. "You say, 'of course not.' Like you just... wouldn't."

With a deep sigh he pulls her forward, one strong arm wrapping around Glimmer's waist and the other hand carding comfortingly through her hair. “You misunderstood... I thought it was better to keep our relationship, um, professional,” he stammers, “because I didn’t want the paparazzi harassing you — er, or me I guess, but mostly you — not that you can’t handle yourself either, but —” Bow leans forward then, pressing his lips to Glimmer's forehead in a gentle kiss, and tingles run down her spine. “I sound like an idiot, don’t I? And I didn’t even realize I hurt your feelings until just now… some friend I am.”

Glimmer laughs as the weight on her mind evaporates in an instant. “I was too stubborn to tell you,” she says, “so I guess we’re both idiots. Sorry, Bow.”

"We make quite a pair," Bow says with a chuckle.

 _A pair..._ "Bow," Glimmer says quietly, leaning into his chest. "If you really feel that way, and you don't mind the rumors, then maybe... you and I could...?"

At once, the door opposite them slams open and Adora bursts through, dressed in casual clothes and forehead shining with sweat. Glimmer jumps away from Bow's embrace, sheepishly placing her hands behind her back.

“That girl got away again before I could get her name and number,” Adora says forlornly between labored breaths. “I don’t understand. What does she want from us — from me?”

"Adora," Bow blurts, cheeks reddening. “Glimmer and I are dating."

Silence stretches out between the three of them. 

And then —

“Huh? As in, just now? Weren’t you two already...?”

With a drawn out “ughhhhh,” Glimmer runs a hand down her face.

_How_ _ was I the last to know?! _

But Bow reaches forward and takes her hand as she pouts, running a thumb comfortingly across her knuckles, and in that moment Glimmer decides maybe a little bit of vulnerability and embarrassment isn’t so bad after all.


End file.
